Heaven-Defying Rebel Sage
Chapter 254 - 243: Breaking the Bonds of Karma and Destiny

Chapter 254: Chapter 243: Breaking the Bonds of Karma and Destiny

When the Supreme Holy Mother delivered the Six Souls Banner to the Upper Pure Heavens and was returning to the Southern Heavenly Gate, she happened to see the True Martial Emperor facing calamity. She sent down a streak of Sword Qi and broke through the Jade Emperor’s killing move, thus saving the life of the True Martial Emperor. Then, she summoned the Golden Phoenix Hairpin, which transformed into a golden phoenix and dove at the Jade Emperor in attack.

"Whoosh!"

With a point of his finger, the Jade Emperor directed the Thirty-Three Heavens Divine Artifact to immediately release Divine Light, accompanied by the sound of flowing water. It then transformed into numerous Divine Spears, shooting toward the golden phoenix simultaneously. In a brief moment, the golden phoenix was decimated into a sieve, reverting to its original form as the Golden Phoenix Hairpin and falling back into the hands of the Supreme Holy Mother.

The Supreme Holy Mother once again took up the Life-Ordering Dagger, aimed it at the Jade Emperor’s forehead with a ferocious slash. The blade carried a force of karma that could not be blocked by ordinary power, lest it be impossible to resist.

The Jade Emperor, naturally perceiving the subtlety, changed his spell. A will of the Heavenly Dao emerged from the Thirty-Three Heavens Divine Artifact. When the edge of the Life-Ordering Dagger came down, it was blocked by the will of the Heavenly Dao, unable to advance an inch. The Jade Emperor let out a light shout, his tongue bursting with the sound of thunder, and the will of the Heavenly Dao from the Thirty-Three Heavens Divine Artifact immediately counterattacked, annihilating the blade light from the Life-Ordering Dagger’s strike and appearing right in front of the Supreme Holy Mother.

The Supreme Holy Mother, utterly unable to resist this will of the Heavenly Dao, was sent flying. Although this will was very weak, being drawn by the Thirty-Three Heavens, it was not something she could withstand. Anything linked to the Heavenly Dao was monstrously strong.

With a cold sneer, the Jade Emperor commanded a Heavenly Sword to burst out from the Thirty-Three Heavens Divine Artifact and slash toward the Supreme Holy Mother, intent on killing her. Another spear flew out, aiming to pick off the True Martial Emperor!

At this critical juncture, a ray of Divine Light fell, ensnaring the Heavenly Sword in a flash. A Jiao dragon surged out, clamping the spear in its jaws, preventing it from advancing by even a hair’s breadth.

"Primordial Golden Dou and the Golden Jiao Scissors?" The Jade Emperor’s heart grew cold with some annoyance. Just as he was about to kill the Supreme Holy Mother and the True Martial Emperor, someone saved them.

The rescuers were Yuan Hong and Wu Zhiqi, leading a subsequent horde of tens of millions from the Demon Tribe, a magnificent force with their demonic energy piercing the sky.

This time, the Demon Tribe did not attack the other three gates but focused their main assault on the Southern Heavenly Gate. They were set on clashing head-on with the Heavenly Court, to engage in a direct and hard-hitting confrontation! This was Wukong’s decision—since the Demon Tribe was stronger than the Heavenly Court, they would fight outright, showing their elegance and strength.

The Heavenly Court’s army also gathered at the Southern Heavenly Gate, numbering over ten million. However, there were very few high-ranking generals to command them. With the Tong Tian Sect Master and the Lord of Primordial Beginning drawing away most of their forces, the Heavenly Court was left with only those who believed the Jade Emperor was the legitimate Heavenly Dao and were willing to follow him to the death. But it was too late—such was the strength of the Demon Tribe’s warriors that they were bound to crush the Heavenly Court with an overwhelming force comparable to Mount Tai.

"Jade Emperor, I am here to kill you!" Wukong, leading the remaining troops, arrived with the Creation Heavenly Mechanism Staff in hand and bellowed like thunder.

The Jade Emperor, long resigned to death, was now facing his mortal enemy, Wukong, with extraordinary hostility. Without a word, he launched himself into battle.

The others left the Jade Emperor for Wukong to deal with while the rest of the Heavenly deities were not so fortunate. A swarm of Primordial Golden Immortals surged forth, employing various Magical Treasures that swiftly shattered the three Heavenly Court’s Primordial Golden Immortals on the spot, dissolving their bodies and capturing their Primordial Spirits with the Primordial Golden Dou, grinding them to dust.

The Jade Emperor’s Thirty-Three Heavens Divine Artifact unleashed its tremendous power, uniting with him and increasing his combat strength by countless folds in a flash.

Wukong met the challenge with the Creation Heavenly Mechanism Staff. The staff clashed with a mighty punch from the Jade Emperor, creating a massive sound as the Southern Heavenly Gate began to shake.

With another punch, the Jade Emperor brought the vast essence of the land, an image born from the long years of presiding over the Three Realms—benefits reaped while seated at the throne as the ruler of all heavens.

Wukong formed a Dharma Seal with his hands to counter with the Great Mountains and Rivers Seal, which also bore the profound weight of the land. However, the Jade Emperor had been seated on the throne far too long, and Wukong found his own understanding of the land somewhat lacking in comparison. The Great Mountains and Rivers Seal was instantly shattered by the Jade Emperor’s punch, which continued to bear down on Wukong.

With a light shout from Wukong, the Creation Heavenly Mechanism Staff struck out, impacting against the punch and emitting a thunderous noise!

"Boom!"

The punch turned to dust under Wukong’s strike. Then, with his hands forming a Sword technique, he summoned countless Sword Qi, slashing toward the Jade Emperor.

The Jade Emperor, merging with the Thirty-Three Heavens Divine Artifact, saw his fighting power soar by hundreds, even thousands of times, challenging Wukong with the strength of a Daluo Golden Immortal. With a long howl, he exhaled a stretch of galaxy to shield himself. As the Sword Qi rained down, it failed to injure the Jade Emperor in the slightest.

"World-Cleansing Dust Whisk, go!" Wukong called forth the World-Cleansing Dust Whisk and swept down the Seven-Colored Divine Light, confronting the galaxy spewed by the Jade Emperor.

The Seven-Colored Divine Light, known to cleanse all things, but Wukong’s World-Cleansing Dust Whisk was not Zhun Ti’s Seven Treasures Wonderful Tree after all, it was merely transformed from one of the Bodhi seeds.

"Whoosh!"

When the divine light collided, it created a resounding boom, like two great rivers crashing into one another, dazzling and blinding.

The armies of the Heavenly Court had been completely annihilated, and their defeat was already beyond salvation, only waiting for Wukong to deal with the Jade Emperor before he could take control of the Heavenly Court.

Everyone was watching this great battle, the clash between Wukong and the Jade Emperor!

Wukong finally couldn’t withstand the might of the Thirty-Three Heavens Divine Artifact, and with a summon of the Eastern Bell, its tolling resonated outward, transforming into waves of Chaos Sword Qi, cutting through the universe and reducing the pressure emitted by the Thirty-Three Heavens Divine Artifact to fine powder.

"Go!" the Jade Emperor bellowed, his hands forming a Dharma Seal, a palm stretching out, growing to a scope of nine thousand zhang, and crashing down ferociously!

All the experts hurriedly flew downward, with Wukong standing at the top, preventing the hand from falling. Should he remain standing in the same spot, he feared he would be caught in the aftermath.

This palm strike was an embodiment of the Thirty-Three Heavens’ might, peerless in power. Wukong dared not take it lightly. With the Eastern Bell summoned, a colossal Divine Monkey Dharma Body rose, embracing the bell. There was also a Golden Crow Dharma Body beside the bell, screeching. This was a Divine Skill Spell that Wukong had evolved himself, called Divine Monkey Embraces the Bell.

The enormous Divine Monkey Dharma Body embraced the Eastern Bell, which rapidly increased in size, vibrating continuously. The sound of the bell was like thunder, booming incessantly, its sonic waves rippling out. The clouds were dispersed by the vibrations, and the Southern Heavenly Gate collapsed with a "rumble," turning into ruins.

"Bang, bang!"

"Rumble!"

It was as if meteors were striking the earth; the collision was intense and terrifying. Shockwaves spread far and wide, marking the clash between the Eastern Bell and the Thirty-Three Heavens Divine Artifact. Which was the true king of divine artifacts? Who was worthy to suppress the Thirty-Three Heavens? The artifacts had spirits, and the Artifact Spirits within the Eastern Bell and the Thirty-Three Heavens Divine Artifact were both exhausting their full power to wield their treasures. The Jade Emperor and Wukong had blood in their eyes, leaving no room for cunning spells or magical treasures. They collided directly with the Thirty-Three Heavens Divine Artifact and the Eastern Bell, determined to fight until one shattered.

The collision was relentless. In the gargantuan hand of the Jade Emperor materialized a nine-hundred-zhang-tall, Thirty-Three Layered Pagoda, while the Divine Monkey Dharma Body struck back with the Eastern Bell.

The Jade Emperor, holding the Thirty-Three Heavens Divine Artifact, struck continuously; the Divine Monkey countered with the Eastern Bell, battling until the heavens overturned, the sun and moon darkened, the stars reversed, and the universe turned upside down.

Such a collision was terrifying, mainly because the treasures from both sides were extremely formidable, truly the finest of their kind. One was nurtured within Chaos, born from within the Green Lotus; although suppressed for tens of thousands of years, it remained remarkable. The other was a treasure used to suppress the Thirty-Three Heavens, crafted by three saints, drawing in the laws of the Heavenly Dao, its power limitless.

This clash, for a time, could not end; both sides fought fiercely, sparks flying everywhere. Each collision released a burst of Immeasurable Divine Light, lighting up the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths with a golden radiance.

The mortals thought this an extraordinary celestial phenomenon and could not help but kneel down in worship.

The clash between the Jade Emperor and Wukong was too intense. Many palaces in the Heavenly Court crumbled, and fortunately, the battle was fought outside the Southern Heavenly Gate; otherwise, the very foundations of the Heavenly Court would have been shattered, causing the collapse of the Thirty-Three Heavens. In such a collision, a Daluo Golden Immortal merely approaching would fear being turned to fine powder by the terrifying aftershocks and force in an instant.

Wukong thought to himself, "This Thirty-Three Heavens Divine Artifact in the hands of the Jade Emperor is truly formidable; it has collided over two thousand times and yet can still hold up! It seems it’s not any weaker than my Eastern Bell."

"Rumble, rumble!"

In the vault of heaven, golden lightning continued to flash. This was the aftermath of the collision between the Eastern Bell and the Thirty-Three Heavens Divine Artifact. Heaven and Earth were almost indistinguishable, illuminated so brightly.

As for who will be the victor, please stay tuned for the next Chapter to find out. (To be continued. If you like this work, we welcome you to vote for it with recommendation tickets and monthly tickets on Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile readers, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)